Some Volt owners take buyback offer

December 6, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT

General Motors Co. has agreed to repurchase a few Chevrolet Volts as the government continues its investigation into the car after two post-crash-test battery fires.

“A couple [of ] dozen” of the Volt’s 6,400 owners have requested the automaker buy back their car, GM spokesman Greg Martin said Monday.

Several dozen more have taken GM up on its offer for free loaners during the safety investigation, Martin said.

“Our actions will continue to be guided and directed by our customers’ satisfaction, and if that means repurchasing the vehicle, we’ll do it,” Martin said.

“We’re going to do our best to keep them in the vehicle and allay their concerns while this investigation continues, but our ultimate goal is to have a satisfied customer.”

Before agreeing to buy back each vehicle, GM is working with each customer to discover why they’re dissatisfied, Martin said.

The Volt came under investigation after a Thanksgiving Day battery fire at a government test facility, one week after a crash test.

The government had been trying to duplicate a fire that occurred this spring, when a Volt battery that had been damaged during a crash test caught fire after sitting undrained in the car for three weeks.

Volt batteries have not caught on fire after any real-world crash.

GM has promised to send a team of engineers to drain any Volt batteries within a couple of days of any road crashes, in an effort to prevent fires.